Japan Real Wages Fall: Updated April 30, 2024.

 

Japan real wages fall for 2nd straight year amid rising inflation

Article Source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240206/p2g/00m/0bu/015000c

Ideas:

Real wages are wages with inflation and basically the wage increases in April of 2023, wasn't enough to cover the continuous increases in inflation each month.

Wage increases usually only happens in April, the beginning of the new business fiscal year in Japan, but inflation is a monthly situation and there is not just one time inflation increases but basically every month.

The 2014 consumption tax or sales tax situation was a situation in Japan, that saw consumer spending decrease significantly in April of 2014, but consumer spending did rebound as consumers and households got used to the sales tax increase.

Household spending or consumer spending is always a challenge for the Japanese economy, as maybe Japanese consumers/households are not the like the free-spending US consumers, as maybe they are more inclined to save instead of spend.

Nominal wage increases, including overtime pay might sound good, but it also includes inflation increases, which gives it an inflated picture of what is really going on.

Its quite possible, because of energy costs and raw material cost increases maybe small and midsize companies just don't have room in the profit margins to offer wage increases similar to what large companies can offer.

Most likely, like most economies, most workers don't work for the large name-brand companies but instead work for the millions of small and midsize companies. Large companies, especially the name-brand companies, these days, get all the news but, again, most workers in every economy don't work for large companies.

If small and midsize companies begin to see enough large companies increasing wages, and then if they begin to hear that some small and midsize companies too, are increasing wages, it become a multiplier effect situation and snow-ball throughout the rest of the Japanese economy.

The reason is Japan is facing a labor shortage and companies, large, midsize, and small need to increase wages to get the best talent possible. If they don't increase wages as an incentive, they are not going to get anyone to work for their company.

Of course, unfortunately, the regional areas, with smaller population bases are going to suffer the most, as many young workers, educated and less-educated don't want to work in regional areas but instead want to work in Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Nagoya, and so on.

December alone, because of the double holiday period in Japan, meaning the Christmas period and the end of the year period, might have seen prices increases during those times, and at as the same, real wages decreased due to price increases.

Some might say a real percent drop of 2.6 percent is not much, but at the same time its more of an average and maybe most likely for some households consumer spending decreased a lot more than 2.6 percent and the upper-income group were probably around the 2.6 percent average, and the lower-income group probably decreased spending even more than 2.6 percent.

Not to get too much on a rant here, but its unfortunate that Japanese students have to go to after-school programs for extra study just to get into the so-called prestigious elementary, middle, and high school, and of course universities.

Its even worse in South Korea and China, where students spend up to midnight taking extra study classes.

Again, maybe most households spent less than the average mentioned here, or maybe many lower-income households spent much less and of course maybe the upper-income groups spend much more.

Its sad that parents have to spend on educational expenses just to keep up with the so-called whomever in society. Think of the stress children/students have to go through just to get into a so-called prestigious school, just to make them or their parents feel good.

Food for the average household might be about 30 percent of household spending, but for the lower-income groups its probably much more than 30 percent, as they have to use more of their limited income on food.

And the same for the upper-income groups that maybe use less than 20 percent of their income on food.

Maybe many household goods are not an everyday every week or even an every month purchase, and as they see the prices increase they might decide to just wait.

Here in South Korea there are still some people wearing masks but its much less than a year ago, but everyone wears one at a hospital or a pharmacy.

Its natural that people want to get out and about instead of just staying at home like during the pandemic.

But its interesting that household spending decreased in December, as it might have been related to price increases in December and consumers/households didn't want to spend that much during the holiday period or the New Year period.

Private consumption, consumer spending, or household spending is always a major challenge for the Bank of Japan and the Japanese economy, as it seems Japanese consumer just don't spend as much as US consumers.

For example December is a major shopping and spending month in the US, and many companies finally get into the black for the first time all year.

But maybe Japanese households or consumers, despite all of the Christmas sales, advertisements and so on in Japan, don't just spend like, again, US consumers.

Have a nice day and be safe!

Japan's New Car Sales: Updated April 28, 2024.

 

Japan's new car sales log 1st drop in 17 months on Daihatsu scandal

Article Source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240201/p2g/00m/0bu/059000c

Ideas:

Unfortunately, as companies race to be number one, some might begin to cut corners and not focus on quality or safety as much as they used to do.

You can't blame an entire company, or can you, as individual workers take orders from above to improve sales and increase production and maybe safety and quality control take a back seat to the quarterly production or monthly results.

Again, you can't blame an entire industry or can you, such as the Nissan situation a few years ago with Goshn, and what happened there, even though one subsidiary of the Toyota group, Daihatsu had some quality control challenges, can you blame to entire Toyota group or even everyone in Daihatsu, for what might have been a one person or one group within Daihatsu that caused the situation.

Again, unfortunately, shareholders/stockholders focus on every month or every quarterly result, and not focus on the big picture or the long term.

That has become the major challenge for many or most publicly traded companies today, it that they can't make long term plans or goals and have to focus on monthly or quarterly results to keep share-holders happy.

Perhaps someone in Daihatsu became too anxious that the monthly or quarterly numbers were not going to be as good as expected and they started to cut corners on quality control.

There could be a number of reasons for the breakdown in quality control in Daihatsu. But ultimately its still the Toyota group that is responsible for the overall results of all in the Toyota group.

The situation might not even be related to someone's greediness in the Toyota group. as it easily could have been a malfunctioning equipment that affected quality control, and the faulty machinery might not have been noticed of seen until it was too late.

Japan has maybe eight or nine car companies, even though some are subsidiaries of the larger companies likes Toyota, Honda, and Nissan. like the Japanese airline industry has two major airlines with many smaller subsidiaries. 

Each of the Japanese car companies, such as Daihatsu focus on different niches or types of vehicles, as Daihatsu focuses on  min-vehicles.

Its interesting that the Japanese market or Japanese car industry is able to support eight or nine Japanese car companies, and maybe its a sign of cooperation among Japanese companies and not so much cutthroat market competition.

It was good that Daihatsu stopped its production, as it was a good sign that they took the situation seriously, and didn't try to cover-up the situation and or just continued to produce mini-vehicles, to meet production schedules.

Now that the situation has passed, most likely, the focus on Daihatsu, and maybe the Toyota group, and quality control is going to be even more focused.

Just like some years ago, the media focus on Nissan might have been strong as the Goshn situation might have seen the Nissan company being very careful about what it did for a few years.

Most likely it won't take Toyota or Daihatsu to get back to normal and maybe Toyota's global standing and global ranking won't change much in 2023 or even 2024.

Have a nice day and be safe!

Japan Airlines Profit: Updated April 26, 2024

 

JAL net profit jumps fivefold in April-Dec. on demand recovery

Article Source: Was deleted by mistake. 

Ideas:

In January of 2023 and 2024, I traveled to Japan from Seoul Korea, from Seoul Gimpo to Tokyo Haneda, in 2023 I used ANA in 2024 I used JAL Both times, both going and coming back the planes used seemed to be one-aisle planes which were very uncomfortable and everyone seemed to be packed in like sardines, and or course many people brought their luggage onto the plane, which made getting on and off very difficult.

And of course ticket prices in 2023 and 2024 were full-price tickets and were much more expensive than before the pandemic. Most discount or low-price airlines don't fly into Tokyo Haneda but fly into Narita which is about 60 to 90 minutes away from central Tokyo.

It seems, but maybe not so, that convience and customer comfort have taken a back seat to profits and or cost-cutting measures. For example, on JAL, for the lunch meal, they used to serve a bento type lunch, of rice, chicken etc. and it was very good and seemed high quality. 

Now they seemed to have gone the way of lunch sandwiches or something like that, and it was not delicious at all. And they bring it to you in a paper bag, like a paper bagged lunch.

Of course customer service, or attention to customers on both ANA and JAL are first class, but it seems there is some kind of change to both airlines or maybe it was just me, who knows exactly.

And another thing I noticed was the age of the fly attendants, especially on JAL, as they seemed much older than the average fly attendant, but they all worked with enthusiasm and a smile, which of course is always important.

In Japan, before the pandemic, travel to and from cities for business meetings was very important, but during the pandemic maybe Zoom meeting became important and airline travel maybe was de-emphasized some. 

But I'm not sure now if Japanese companies have gone back to airline travel again, but maybe some companies, as a way to reduce costs have gone the way of using Zoom for meetings, and only essential first-time meetings are now face to face.

Of course maybe most airlines, including JAL and ANA have increased ticket prices as a way to makeup for lost profits during the pandemic, so maybe the reason for an increase in profits, and of course more travel after the pandemic.

When I went to Tokyo Haneda in January of 2024, there were many foreign travelers so many airlines seemed to arrive at the same time, around 2 PM and the immigration lines and package pickup areas were packed with people. But Tokyo Haneda and Japan immigration were very efficient and it was not a long lengthy process to get through everything.

The weak Japan yen, which helps foreign travelers in Japan with increased purchasing power, might be an incentive for some foreign travelers to go to Japan. 

I'm not sure about ticked prices to Japan, but from Korea, for full-ticket airlines, prices seemed to have almost doubled from before the pandemic.

If you don't mind flying into Narita, which is maybe 60 to 90 minutes from Central Tokyo, then the low-priced discount airlines might be a good choice.

Many full-price international air-carriers have shifted their flight from Narita to Haneda, which makes it much more convenient for travelers to Tokyo.

ANA and JAL used to be known for superior customer service, but it seems they might have slipped just a little by using single-aisle planes. But maybe, they had no choice, and their was/is a labor shortage in Japan, which might have impacted the number of pilots available for the flights.

And of course maybe, the needed to maximize profits by squeezing customers into the smaller planes and or of course maybe fuel costs had something do to with using smaller planes at the time.

At the time, in 2023 and early 2024 global fuel costs were extremely high which of course many airlines passed-on their fuel costs through fuel surcharges to the customer.

Before the pandemic, at least the Seoul Gimpo fight to Tokyo Haneda seemed to use wide-body aircraft, with two-aisles which made getting on and off very easy compared to the single aisle planes which were very difficult getting on and off.

Robust air travel most likely will continue, but some of its depends on what is going to happen with the weak Japanese yen. if the yen remains weak, then its a good incentive to travel to Japan but if the Bank of Japan intervenes and the Japanese yen becomes much stronger it could also be an incentive to not go to Japan, as foreign travelers purchasing power might be reduced somewhat or considerably.

The Haneda incident was a perfect example of how, for the most part, Japanese people follow directions and how prepared they are for emergency situations, as they constantly deal with severe typhoons, earthquakes and potential tsunamis on a daily basis.

Again, better-than-expected air travel might have had something to do with the increase in earnings, but at the same time, airline companies have increased ticket prices, again, to makeup for their losses during the pandemic. The fact that demand increased is just a bonus besides the increase in ticket prices due to fuel charges and the losses during the pandemic.

Thirteen years ago JAL filed for bankruptcy, and most likely they became too arrogant and too proud and the so-called flagship airline of Japan while ANA always downplayed its position and they knew they needed to work hard to survive.

But since 2010, they, JAL, have come a long way to being the major airline in Japan and hopefully they will remember where they came from and what they've achieved and will continue to strive for quality customer safety and customer convenience.

Have a nice day and be safe!

Japan Airlines: Update April 25, 2024.

 

At Japan Airlines, Bankruptcy Helped Lay Groundwork for First Female Boss

Article Source:  https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/news-services/reuters/20240131-165916/?fbclid=IwAR1hB3X4Q7xPTw1TJfVYFTGXPCV8zoiVPfdM8v1NNZ5TiF45y0TwNtuoIaI

Ideas:

Perhaps because of the double challenge of being a wife and mother, it makes it hard for a career women to move up the leader to a CEO position.

But more and more women, are not only running major name-brand companies, but many are now running their own companies too.

There are always going to be women who step-up to the challenge, but unfortunately, because of being a wife and mother too, many women, especially in Japan, might shy away from it.

Women, as a resource, is a long-neglected variable in the Japanese economy. And as many companies now face labor shortages, it becomes even more important for Japanese companies to look to Japanese women to fill the vacancies they might have.

Part of the challenge is changing mindsets and expectations of everyone in Japan society. For example, maybe many women aspire to move up the corporate ladder, but societal and companies expectations keep many women from attempting the challenge.

And then there is the mindset of many of the older traditional Japanese corporate men, who don't see the need for women in management positions, and might even feel threatened with women in power situations.

There is also societal expectations on women, to maybe leave the company after they get married, and or still, place more emphasis on raising children instead of moving up the corporate ladder, which, again, might be a psychological barrier to many women who aspire to be in management positions.

There is also the notorious number of hours that many Japanese managers have to work, which might discourage some women from seeking management positions.

Perhaps Kazuho Inamori has/was the real innovator for Japan Airlines and Tottori just followed in his footsteps, but either way, both transformed Japan Airlines.

Maybe overtime, Japan Airlines had become too arrogant, and didn't really respect customers, and maybe they thought they were doing customers a favor instead of the other way, Japan Airlines should have seen customers as key stakeholders.

Its a good lesson to be learned by many Japanese companies to not neglect the customer. That doesn't mean the customer is king or God, but customers are the key to any business, and especially related to the airline industry.

These days, there are many challenges with airline travel, that need to be changed, and if companies would get back to putting customers first, and of course with safety, it would go a long way for positive public relations.

For example, before the pandemic, traveling to Japan from Korea, from Seoul Gimpo to Tokyo Haneda, either on JAL of ANA, both used wide-body planes which provide a lot of comfort and space for customers.

Bu after the pandemic both JAL and ANA switched to smaller body planes with only a middle isle between seats, which made it very uncomfortable, and it seemed everyone was bringing their luggage onto the planes which made getting on and off the plane even more difficult.

But unfortunately, maybe lowering costs instead of customer comfort has become the norm in the airline industry today.

Perhaps, again, Inamori was an old-school manager, who put customers first, which seems to have been neglected in the age of putting share-holders first above workers and above customers, which use to be the two main stakeholders in Japanese companies.

It seems Inamori was like the late Peter Drucker and or Peter Drucker was like Inamori, in what they thought about companies, customers, and managers.

It would be interesting to know if both men knew each other, as Peter Drucker for many years had traveled to Japan and did a lot of seminars on how he thought companies should do business, especially the idea of workers being stakeholders in a company and not just shareholders.

And Drucker's ideas about business never really became that popular in the US, but became very popular in Japan.

Its important for any service type company, which an airline is, to have someone at the top who is close to the front lines as possible. The idea that anyone else in charge just shows that companies are not concerned with customers and their importance.

Its like a car manufacturing company placing someone in finance at the top of the company, when that person might have no experience with customers and or really making cars.

Japanese companies used to have its line managers move from department to department to gain experience in all phases of a company's operations. But these days, everything has become too specialized and new line employees don't get the experience like maybe a Inamori or Tottori had back in the day.

Putting a women as president of JAL might not change much related to Japan's ranking among OECD nations and gender equality, but its a start, just like the Tokyo mayor, Koike is a start for women in politics in Japan.

But again, Japanese society environment and mindsets need to change before many women feel comfortable entering into management positions or in politics in Japan.

And again, JAL is a service type company, which should be very focused on customers and of course customers safety, and it makes perfect sense to have someone with practical experience in a service company who knows what its like and been there and seen the day to day activities of the company and how do deal with customers correctly.

Actually, it should be the priority of any company to have those with practical experience at the top and not some back-room manager who has never seen or been on the front lines of a company.

Its like placing a family member, who has never been in charge of anything at the top of a division of a family owned company just because he/she is the nephew of the CEO, which used to happen a lot in South Korea and the big family owned companies.

It seems Tottori was, at the time, like Koike, was one of the few career oriented women.

Another trend setter was/is Fumiko Hayashi, the former major of Yokohama, who also worked for BMW and other car companies before she became major of Yokohama, the second largest city in Japan.

There are probably many women in Japan like these women, but maybe they are not known or prefer to stay unknown and just do their jobs, be good wives, and raise their children, without a lot of noise or publicity.

Perhaps, Japan is on the verge of seeing a lot of women step-up to management level positions, as maybe the tide as finally changed in Japan, maybe women are actually going to make significant strides in management positions in companies. But maybe not, as who knows exactly. 

Who knows exactly means Japan still has a way to go for gender equality, as so does the US. It seems many of the northern European countries have figured out how to solve the gender equality situation with many men and women have equal standing in many situations.

That doesn't mean Japanese men are opposed to Japanese women in management positions, as again, there are many constraints that men too have do deal with, such a going along with the main ideas of what a companies wants, but maybe some men might think having a women in management is a good idea to them.

Many women, such as Tottori might have good communication skills, good business reasoning skills, but if the male CEO or some above dismisses their thinking, they might never get a chance to move up in the company.

Some or many women, see this and either give up and or don't even try to move up into a  company as they know and see what is going on and or have seen how other women, before them, were treated and or ignored.

But again, Japanese companies, who are smart and see what is happening will be quick to implement policies and strategies that seek to employ more women in management positions, especially as Japan is going through a labor shortage period, its time to use women in companies besides just as clerks or serving tea.

Customer safety should be number one for any service company and especially an airline. But unfortunately, there are always going to be some customers/passengers who don't follow the rules, no matter how much an airline might emphasize following safety rules and safety procedures.

The Haneda incident might have been the exception as everyone got off safely and everyone followed the rule of now luggage when leaving.

Hollywood movies are never what really happens and the Haneda incident showed that clearly.

Its important, whether a man or woman, that they can get the chance to move around a company and gain experience with many different operations of a company, and not just remain in one positions their entire career.

But again, these days, maybe companies don't move employees around like they used to, as back in the day, Japanese employees, were considered generalists and not specialists meaning they moved around a lot and experienced many different operations in a company.

But again, maybe women, back in the day were not put in to management track positions, which means they were stuck in one part of a company and now allowed to experience other parts of a company to again experience to move up in a company. Tottori, might have been the exception.

Its unfortunate that some men maybe many corporate men, still have that kind of thinking, but of course it might be in the US too for some.

But the more women move up the ladder maybe over time mindsets will change and as more men and women interact in the management arena, men will eventually see women as equal management partners and not just "decorations."

Its not going to change today or even tomorrow but it's going to take time as more and more women enter the management workplace and corporate men really see what they can do, then maybe the mindsets will change.

Have a nice day and be safe!

Bank of Japan Meeting: Updated April 24, 2024

 

BOJ members more positive about policy normalization at Jan. meeting

Article Source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240131/p2g/00m/0bu/029000c

Ideas:

Just what does normalizing its monetary policy mean exactly, other than maybe adjusting the policy as needed to meet the needs of the Japanese economic, with key interest rate increases or decreases, depending on the current state of the economy.

There are always going to be situations, both major and minor, that might cause some twerks in the monetary policy, such as the earthquake that hit central Japan recently,

Wage growth or wage increases might be the key to the Japanese economy moving out of its stagnation situation and moving out of its so-called deflation situation too.

Wage growth might allow Japanese households to be able to get past the household energy situation and they might feel good enough to begin to spend more and more consumer demand will be part of the Japanese economy again, 

But, as mentioned before, all companies, large, midsize, and small need to participate in wage increases for all in the economy to feel good about what is happening, and if not, then, again, there will an unbalance economy of haves and have nots.

The ultra-loose policy might change but don't expect major wholesale changes and the Bank of Japan is going to move very slowly, to make sure what they do doesn't cause any harm in the Japanese economy.

For example the key interest rate, while at zero or a negative rate, might go to a positive rate of 1, which is still way below the US rate of 5.3 points, but don't expect much more than this for awhile.

At the same time because the US rate and the Japanese rate are still too far apart the Japanese yen, will most likely remain weak, for the time, being, which will be good for foreign tourists who travel to Japan.

The 2 percent price stability target was/is always a goal, that hasn't been met in ten years, but the Bank of Japan keeps trying. The inflation target of 2 percent was always focused on consumer demand and consumer spending and not inflation related to companies passing-on their energy and materials costs to the next in the supply chain.

But most likely there is always going to be cost-push inflation and companies will always be passing-on their costs to the next in the supply chain including the final customer.

The key is to improve consumer demand and consumer spending in the Japanese economy, to where consumer spending it the key driver of economic growth.

There are both positives and negatives to the rates, as they are, but maybe the positive side of the rates, has run its course, and now the Japanese economy needs to see some higher rate to get the economy moving again, including more inflation, which in itself is not a bad thing.

Increased inflation, up to a point, is a good indicator or good economic activity, just like less inflation, such as at 1 percent or below it a good indicator of not so good economic activity, as maybe an economy is depressed or not operating at its normal level.

A 2 percent inflation rate, based on consumer demand and consumer spending, for the Japanese economy, is very good, and sometimes consumer demand and consumer spending is not where it should be.

Its important that all Japanese companies participate in increase wages for all in the Japanese economy, as some 70 percent of wage earners in Japan don't work for large Japanese companies, but work for small and midsize companies.

And while wage increases are important, for wage earners to feel good about their wages and, then maybe they will begin to spend more in the Japanese economy, which will increase consumer demand and consumer spending and then, companies might be able to naturally increase prices.

For the past few years,  maybe consumer demand and consumer spending has not been where it should have been in the Japanese economy along with Japanese companies passing-on their costs even though consumer demand and consumer spending was not where it should have been, as it made an un-natural situation of increased costs and not so good consumer demand in the Japanese economy.

Have a nice day and be safe!

Japan Consumer Confidence: Updated March 28, 2024.

 

Japan's January consumer confidence rises to highest level in 2 years

Article Source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240131/p2g/00m/0bu/046000c

Ideas:

Consumer confidence in any economy is very important and maybe even more important in Japan as consumer spending is always not what it should be. 

As consumer prices continue to ease, but not fall significantly it might take some time for the full effect of consumer confidence to be manifested in the Japanese economy.

For example a index number of 38.0 is not that great but it could increase with the continued decrease consumer prices and as consumers begin to feel more confident, creating a synergistic affect in the economy.

The challenges with the Japanese economy, for the most part, is Japanese consumers are not big spenders like US consumers, as Japanese are more savers, or used to be, and the US consumer is more spenders, or used to be.

Consumer confidence is a psychological situation and there can be many unknown variables to what consumers think, What is happening in an economy might have nothing to do with what consumers think or feel and it could be personal or family situations affecting consumer buying situations.

Expectations about the future, such as an increase in wages can improve the mood of Japanese workers and maybe they can expect a wage increase in April and they might spend a little more in the months leading to the April wage increase.

Lately the happiness index of Japan society has not been on the positive side and there seems to be more pessimists that optimists. 

But it wasn't always that way, or maybe it was/is, as Japanese society, for the most part, has been described and positive society, despite typhoons, earthquakes, the lost decade and so on.

Its natural, that after a devastating earthquake a region might be less optimistic and say a region that hasn't seen such destruction.

It might have take the Tohoku region, related to the 9/11 earthquake and tsunami to regain its optimism, and maybe even today, 12 years later the region might not be back to some kind of normal.

But again, consumer confidence, overall, has not been that great since the lost decade period of the 1990's and maybe won't change until real wage increases are part of the entire economy, and not just big company wage increases.

Until that time, consumer confidence is always going to be suspect as part of the the workers in the Japanese economy got wage increases and others didn't.

The buying of durable goods is usually not a daily purchase, or weekly purchase, or even a monthly purchase as maybe households plan when to buy or when they have to related to replacing older durable goods.

The increase in livelihoods most likely is related to an increase in wages, which many Japanese workers haven't seen for a very long time.

Single-member households are becoming more common in many countries and they are beginning a major consumer buying group and companies need to be aware that single-member households are gaining more economic power too.

The days of a husband, wife, and 2 children, unfortunately, might be a thing of the past, and even in so-called traditional Japan, as singles are becoming more of an economic force in all economies globally.

Have a nice day and be safe!

Japan Industrial Output: Updated April 16, 2024.

 

Japan's 2023 industrial output falls 1.1%, down for 2nd year

Article Source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240131/p2g/00m/0bu/013000c

Ideas:

A decrease of 1.1 percent is not much, but of course, for investors who are obsessed over every percentage point it might be important.

Demand for semiconductors are both a positive and negative, as the semiconductor industry has been going through periods of logistics and supply shocks the last few years.

The Chinese economy is a different situation, as it seems to be going through a transition or restructuring period, and it will take some time for it to solve.

Japan seems to place a lot of emphasis on industrial output as its related to Japanese export companies, and if industrial output is down, exports might be down too.

In a market economy, not all sectors or industries are going to be positive and there are gong to be some positive sectors/industries and some negative sectors/industries. 

The Japanese car market as been up and down the last few years due to the logistics and chip shortage. For example, in 2002, it was noted that it was taking up to six months to get a new car in Japan, once ordered.

Chips are used by everything electronic now days and maybe chip manufacturers were caught off guard about the increase in demand for chips needed for many different products.

The semiconductor market is very diverse and almost every kind of electronic device uses chips today.

The US and Chinese economies, at the present time, seem to be headed in different directions. The US economy seems to be headed in the right direction, with inflation either staying the same or decreasing. 

The Chinese economy, again, seems to be in a restructuring period after decades of positive growth. The Chinese economy is expected to increase but not at the same level as before.

The Toyota group was hit by some challenges related to Daihatsu, which produces some small cars and some regular Toyota cars too.

It just goes to show, that even a name brand such as Toyota can have some serious challenges if not looked at carefully, as maybe someone in the quality control area, in Daihatsu or Toyota was more concerned with production schedules and not so much concerned with quality control issues.

The area that was hit by the earthquake, while not limiting the human suffering, is not a significant area for economic activity in Japan.

If the earthquake had hit Osaka, Nagoya, or some other major metropolitan area in Japan, it might have been even more devastating.

The decrease of industrial shipments at 0.5 percent, again, is not that significant, as it could be in the margin of error of + or 1 0.5 percent.

The inventory index is interesting, as a decrease or increase of inventories can be strong indicators or what going on in an economy.

If inventories start to trend upward, meaning for example many company's factories or warehouses are starting to have long periods of product not moving, that might be an indication the demand is slowing in an economy.

If the opposite is true and inventories are not sitting in warehouses for very long, can could be an indicators of demand in an economy is strong.

"Fluctuating indecisively" is most likely correct has there are going to be periods of ups and downs, and factories shutdown and or have material shortages and or repairs needed.

The fact that the industrial shipments increased is a good indication that maybe global demand for Japanese industrial products is strong.

And at the same time, the fact that inventories declined is a good indication that maybe demand for Japanese industrial products was strong and companies can't keep up demand.

Production is never linear, upward, as there are always stops and starts in manufacturing, due to material shortages, logistics challenges, downtime for repairs and so on.

The trick, of course, is for manufacturers to be able to plan as much as possible any downtime periods and factor them into the production schedules.

There are probably many different sectors related to production in Japan, and maybe many of them are export oriented, as Japanese manufacturers are noted for their attention to detail such as maybe German manufacturers. 

Even though the Japanese economy is the 4th largest economy in the world, with a population of 125 million, its focus seems to be exporting including the exporting of industrial products and not just Japanese cars or baseball players.

Have a nice day and be safe!